Of all the coronavirus information out there (in the United States), I’ve found this the most helpful tool for understanding when I might be able to receive one of the COVID-19 vaccinations offered in my state: Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line. (If you’re not a NY Times member, you can generally get a few free articles a month.) This is an estimation, of course, but narrows it down for those of us on immunosuppressants who have been waiting for this vaccine like it was our winning lottery ticket day.
I’m often asked about the journey to and through motherhood as a woman living with Crohn’s disease. I’ve been (incredibly) lucky to give birth to two healthy boys — now 5 and 1 — with almost zero complications. So my interest was piqued when I found the IBD Parenthood Project.
From their website: “The IBD Parenthood Project is led by the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) with support from the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and the patient support network, Girls With Guts. The goal of the IBD in Pregnancy Clinical Care Pathway is to provide guidance on the continuum of care and best practices for managing patients with IBD who are either pregnant or have a desire to become pregnant. The Pathway outlines the entire care process — from conception, to delivery and post-pregnancy.”
This site is pretty rad. It contains infographics (like the one above), check-lists, helpful pregnancy tips, guidance for both IBD patients and their healthcare providers, and more. It’s informative and (my personal favorite part) optimistic! Check it out here.
The bottom line is: Sleep is essential. 7 to 9 hours of it, unless you’re some part of the less than 1% of the population that can actually survive on 5 hours (like this guy — miss you buddy!).
If you don’t have time for the full podcast — likely because you need to sleep! — just breeze through the notes here. Happy sleeping!
